The period for presenting candidatures for the 2011 Prince of Asturias Awards, which are now being held for the thirty first time, is now open.

The Foundation will distribute the pamphlet containing the official announcement for candidatures and rules for the Awards. Candidacies may now also be presented via the web page of the Foundation (Fundación Príncipe de Asturias).

As in previous years, the regulations are sent to research centres, academies, universities, the diplomatic corps and major figures world-wide as well as the laureates from previous editions. Thousands of pamphlets are mailed in Spain and distributed by special courier service elsewhere.

Maestro Riccardo Muti has been bestowed with the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. The decision was announced today by the Jury in Oviedo.

Acknowledged as one of the best classical music conductors in the world, Riccardo Muti has conducted the most prestigious orchestras with both passion and virtuosity, leaving a profound mark with his interpretations, which have attained a universal dimension.

This candidature was put forward by Teresa Berganza, 1991 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts.

The US psychologist Professor Howard Gardner has been bestowed with the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, as made public today in Oviedo by the Jury responsible for conferring said Award.

Internationally recognised for this theory of multiple intelligences, which has revealed the diverse manifestations of the human intellect, his research has been decisive in the evolution of the education system by taking into consideration the innate potentialities of each individual.

The Royal Society, Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities

The Royal Society has been bestowed with the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. The decision was announced today by the Jury in Oviedo.

The Royal Society is the longest-standing scientific community in existence in the world and the most prestigious institution of human knowledge in the history of Great Britain. Since its beginnings, the Society has combined the role of a research institute with that of a centre for the exchange of knowledge for the benefit of humanity.

Joseph Altman, Arturo Álvarez-Buylla and Giacomo Rizzolatti, Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research

The neuroscientists Joseph Altman, Arturo Álvarez-Buylla and Giacomo Rizzolatti have been bestowed with the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research. The Jury for the Award announced its decision today in Oviedo.

These three scientists are considered worldwide leaders in neurology for having provided solid proof of the regeneration of neurons in adult brains (neurogenesis) and for the discovery of what are known as mirror neurons. Their research has opened up promising pathways to a new generation of treatments to fight neurodegenerative and brain-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or Autism.

This candidature was proposed by a member of the Prince of Asturias Award Jury and was seconded, among others, by Ricardo Miledi, 1999 Prince of Asturias Laureate for Technical and Scientific Research, and Paul Greengard, 2000 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine.

Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, has been bestowed with the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.

The Jury for the Award announced its decision today in Oviedo.

Driving force behind the figure of social entrepreneurs, men and women who undertake innovative initiatives for the common good, Bill Drayton has generated a platform of citizens who, via their projects, have changed the way of solving society’s problems.

This candidature was put forward by Diego Hidalgo Schnur, president of FRIDE (Foundation for International Relations and Foreign Dialogue) and was seconded by Federico Mayor Zaragoza, president of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace.

The Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie has been bestowed with the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Sports. The Jury for the Award announced its decision today in Oviedo.

Considered the best distance runner of all time, Haile Gebrselassie is an extraordinary example of sacrifice and self-improvement who has been a leading figure among the sports elite for over two decades. His commitment to peace and understanding through sport and his humanitarian and social work in Ethiopia have made him an ethical role model for a whole generation of athletes worldwide.

This nomination was put forward by Antonio Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar, Spain’s ambassador to Ethiopia.

2011 LaureatesThe 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Concord has been bestowed on the “heroes of Fukushima”. The Jury for the Award announced its decision today in Oviedo.

This group of people represent the highest values of the human condition by trying to prevent, through their sacrifice, the nuclear disaster caused by the tsunami that struck Japan from multiplying its devastating effects, disregarding the grave consequences that this decision would have on their lives. Their courageous and exemplary behaviour has earned them the international epithet “heroes of Fukushima”.

The XX Music Week will include nineteen concerts between 14th and 20th October

(...)
The Prince Felipe Auditorium in Oviedo will host the finale concert of the series on Thursday, 20th October. Riccardo Muti, 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, will conduct the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra and the Prince of Asturias Foundation Choir, who will perform Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor. TRH the Prince and Princess of Asturias will preside the concert.

Italian physician and surgeon Giacomo Rizzolatti and Mexican scientist Arturo Ávarez Buylla pose for photographers after arriving in Oviedo. They will be awarded with the 2011 Prince of Asturias Technical and Scientific Research

17.00 p.m. Representation of the Association of the Center of the Public companies of Asturias (ACCEPA).

17.20 p.m. Tecniberia Asturias' Board of directors.

17.40 p.m. Board of directors of the Cultural Association Friends of Ribadesella, headed by the mayor, Charo Fernandez Roman.

20.00 p.m. T.R.H. The Prince and Princess of Asturias will chair the closing concert of the XX Music Week, organized by the Prince of Asturias Foundation and Cajastur. The concert will be held at the Prince Felipe Auditorium in Oviedo. Maestro Riccardo Mutti will conduct this concert. An invitation is required to access.

FRIDAY, 21st OCTOBER

12.30 p.m. Audiences at the “Covadonga Room” in the Reconquista Hotel:T.R.H The Prince and the Princess of Asturias will meet the Juries' chairpersons, the members of the Prince of Asturias Foundation Board of Trustees and the 2011 Prince of Asturias Awards Laureates.Press pool.